2023.03

Supanova, a Polish translation, reading recommendations, + thinking about the Next Book!

Hi readers! Where did March go? Between returning to clinical work, taking a road trip to Clunes Booktown Festival, picking up a freelance writing gig, and looking after the family, a month has whirled away into a brilliant, chaotic void.

I just have a couple of updates this time!

Guess who’s going to Supanova?!?

Ridiculously chuffed to announce that I will be at Supanova Melbourne on the weekend of 22-23 April. I will be around in the afternoon on both days, jumping on a couple of panels and hanging out in the Literary Legends booth. Come and say hi if you’re going!

3:30pm, Saturday 22nd April: Creating Complex Characters with Grace Chan, Luke Arnold, Lynette Noni, and Freya Marske

1:30pm, Sunday 23rd April: The World is What We Make It with Grace Chan, Lynette Noni, Samantha Shannon, and T. R. Napper

A Polish translation of As Though I Were a Little Sun in Nowa Fantastyka

My bittersweet tree-transformation short story, As Though I Were a Little Sun, has been translated into Polish! It appears in the February 2023 issue of Nowa Fantastyka. This story was originally published in Fireside. It’s such an honour to have a piece translated for a new audience. Thank you, Agnieszka Halas and the Nowa Fantastyka team!

And a handful or reading recommendations!

This new section is inspired by Grace D. Li, who included a very lovely nod to Every Version of You in her latest newsletter:

EVERY VERSION OF YOU by Grace Chan, a gorgeous sci-fi that asks “What if the Metaverse actually became a thing, and your aging immigrant parent did not want to join but the love of your life does, and also, you may have to die in real life for it?”

Argh, is that not the perfect elevator pitch for my novel? Thank you, Grace!

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share some recent reads that I’ve really enjoyed:

Short fiction

The Transfiguration of the Gardener Irene by the Dead Planet Hipea by Ann LeBlanc (Clarkesworld, Nov 2022) - for fungal fevers, sentient planets, a most visceral symbiosis, and reincarnation. This gripped me with wonder from the first sentence and did not let me go.

The Day We Returned to Sunnytown by Angela Liu (Fusion Fragment, Jan 2023) - for 90s internet conspiracies, weirdness, unsolved mysteries, virtual reality, ?death. Liu is on fire; I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on her work!

Novellas

Weird Fishes by Rae Mariz - for a lyrical, memorable, ecological tale underpinned by ocean science, climate grief, and old powers. Features two of the most wonderful narrators: a deep sea cephalopod and a seal-folk storyteller. This one swept me away!

Novels

Liquid Crystal Nightingale by Eeleen Lee - for an impeccably crafted far future world, steampunk transport systems, a dance-like combat system, class commentary, androids, river gods of death, and shadows. An intricate, twisty, meticulous sci-fi novel — perfect for a rainy weekend when you want to get lost in a distant, eerie world.

The Membranes by Chi Ta-Wei, translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich - for queer Taiwanese speculative fiction published in 1995 (!). Domes under the ocean, dermal care technicians, surveillance to the nth degree, skin that records memories, technocapitalism, commodification. What is reality? Mind-blowing and deeply haunting.

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I’ve also been thinking a lot about the Next Book. There’s nervousness about putting pen to paper for a second novel, but there’s also a lot of excitement. I love how Angela Meyer put it during our recent panel at Clunes—there’s a compulsive energy when you know you’re onto something special. I’m trying to follow that energy: to write what I feel compelled to write, and not what anyone else expects me or would like me to write.

I have two big ideas that are whirling around in my head, pulling ideas into their centres of gravity. One of them is a claustrophobic, strange, science-fiction mystery story set on a migration ship in the distant future. The other is a deliciously dark fantasy tale that needs to brew a little longer.

I will share bits and pieces of my writing process in future editions of this newsletter. As always, thanks for joining me on this adventure!

Until next time,

Grace